Skip to main content

RBI may relax ARC share sale norms



The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to remove a major hurdle that asset reconstruction companies ( ARCs) face while raising funds via initial public offering ( IPO). According to norms, ARCs have to take prior regulatory approval to sell more than 10 per cent stake.
Sources said RBI would give exemption to the ARCs on this issue. " The regulator is not saying that ARCs cannot sell more than 10 per cent. If they want to sell more than 10 per cent, they have to take the regulators approval. However, that exemption can be given during an IPO." An entity that holds more than 10 per cent stake in an asset reconstruction company is classified as a sponsor.
ARCs also face problems while raising funds as the regulation caps a sponsors stake at 49 per cent.
With bad loan sale market gaining momentum following certain regulatory relaxation, ARCs are now looking to raise capital. According to a CrisilAssocham report, capital constraints along with expectation mismatch on valuations and longer resolution time frames are some of the biggest impediments for these companies.
The need for more capital by ARCs has also been necessitated by the change in the norm, which requires them to pay 15 per cent cash upfront to the banks for buying a stressed asset, compared to the five per cent earlier.
With the increasing menace of bad loans in the system, it is believed that the importance of the role played by the ARCs will increase.
To encourage banks to sell bad loans, RBI has allowed lenders to spread the losses arising out of asset sale for eight quarters. However, this is a onetime window that is available till the end of the financial year.
The Crisil report also points out that although the gross non- performing assets (NPAs) of banks will edge up in this financial year by 20 basis points to 4.5 per cent of advances, or by Rs.60,000 crore to Rs.4 lakh crore, only a fifth of the incremental NPAs are likely to be sold to ARCs.
Bad loans worth Rs.11,00012,000 crore will be bought by ARCS, thus underscoring a low systemic absorption, the report noted.
The rating agency estimates gross NPAs of the banking system to reach Rs.4 lakh crore by March next year.
Buisness Standard, New Delhi, 19th August 2015

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

RBI deputy governor cautions fintech platform lenders on privacy concerns during loan recovery

  India's digital lending infrastructure has made the loan sanctioning system online. Yet, loan recovery still needs a “feet on the street” approach, Swaminathan J, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, said at a media event on Tuesday, September 2, according to news agency ANI.According to the ANI report, the deputy governor flagged that fintech operators in the digital lending segment are giving out loans to customers with poor credit profiles and later using aggressive recovery tactics.“While loan sanctioning and disbursement have become increasingly digital, effective collection and recovery still require a 'feet on the street' and empathetic approach. Many fintech platforms operate on a business model that involves extending small-value loans to customers often with poor credit profiles,” Swaminathan J said.   Fintech platforms' business models The central bank deputy governor highlighted that many fintech platforms' business models involve providing sm

Credit card spending growth declines on RBI gaze, stress build-up

  Credit card spends have further slowed down to 16.6 per cent in the current financial year (FY25), following the Reserve Bank of India’s tightening of unsecured lending norms and rising delinquencies, and increased stress in the portfolio.Typically, during the festival season (September–December), credit card spends peak as several credit card-issuing banks offer discounts and cashbacks on e-commerce and other platforms. This is a reversal of trend in the past three financial years stretching to FY21 due to RBI’s restrictions.In the previous financial year (FY24), credit card spends rose by 27.8 per cent, but were low compared to FY23 which surged by 47.5 per cent. In FY22, the spending increased 54.1 per cent, according to data compiled by Macquarie Research.ICICI Bank recorded 4.4 per cent gross credit losses in its FY24 credit card portfolio as against 3.2 per cent year-on-year. SBI Cards’ credit losses in the segment stood at 7.4 per cent in FY24 and 6.2 per cent in FY23, the rep

India can't rely on wealthy to drive growth: Ex-RBI Dy Guv Viral Acharya

  India can’t rely on wealthy individuals to drive growth and expect the overall economy to improve, Viral Acharya, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Monday.Acharya, who is the C V Starr Professor of Economics in the Department of Finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business (NYU-Stern), said after the Covid-19 pandemic, rural consumption and investments have weakened.We can’t be pumping our growth through the rich and expect that the economy as a whole will do better,” he said while speaking at an event organised by Elara Capital here.f there has to be a trickle-down, it should have actually happened by now,” Acharya said, adding that when the rich keep getting wealthier and wealthier, they have a savings problem.   “The bank account keeps getting bigger, hence they look for financial assets to invest in. India is closed, so our money can't go outside India that easily. So, it has to chase the limited financial assets in the country and